Cast: Jennifer Aniston, Drew Barrymore, Scarlett Johansson, Jennifer Connelly, Ben Affleck, Kevin Connolly, Justin Long, Ginnifer Goodwin; Director: Ken Kwapis; Producer: Nancy Juvonen; Screenwriters: Abby Kohn, Marc Silverstein; Music: Cliff Eidelman; Editor: Cara Silverman; Genre: Romantic Comedy; Cinematography: John Bailey; Distributor: New Line Cinema; Location: Maryland, USA; Running Time: 129 min;Technical Assessment: 3
Moral Assessment: 2
CINEMA Rating: For mature viewers 18 and above
The movie talks about the dos and don’ts of dating following the story of nine people in their twenties and thirties who are in a relationship wherein one partner is more in love than the other. Narrating the stories is Gigi (Ginnifer Goodwin), a young insecure single woman who always manages to misinterpret the actions of men about their level of interest in her. After being rejected by Conor (Kevin Connolly), she starts getting dating advice from Conor’s friend, the romantic and promiscuous bar manager Alex (Justin Long). Meanwhile, Gigi's sister Janine (Jennifer Connelly) is having marriage problems with her husband, Ben (Bradley Cooper), as he cheats on her with Anna (Scarlett Johansson), a yoga instructor and wannabe singer. But Anna is two-timing Ben with Conor, but isn't as really in love with him as he is with her. Anna talks about her lovelife with Mary (Drew Barrymore), a newspaper editor. On the other hand, Gigi's co-worker, Beth (Jennifer Aniston), is upset that her live-in boyfriend of seven years Neil (Ben Affleck) refuses to commit permanently.
The movie is amusing with some good performances and clever deliveries from the lead actors. However it seems that the scenes have been diced from other romantic comedies and clumped together with a lesser punch. The characters are very shallow and the film does not give any more insight beyond its title. The technical aspect is decent with a good paced-editing and a suitable scoring. However, even with its powerhouse cast, the movie may be forgotten a day after it has been seen.
The film demonstrates that the failure of a relationship is a breakdown in the communication. When people begin to color, hide or twist the truth, it becomes difficult to maintain trust and commitment. We begin to hurt people with a pretense of politeness and good manners when in truth we merely try to hide our self-centeredness and insincerity. Although the premise of the movie is to empower women and teach them to realize when it is time to let go, relations are sexualized and may offend the sensitivities of viewers or may give the wrong impression to teenagers.
The movie gives a negative view of marriage. Either it is just for show, something constricting, something that can be discarded when no longer needed or merely a refuge for the insecure and lonely. Although there remains something of a cautionary tale, wherein viewers experience the excitement of an extramarital affair, it turns around to reveal that these flirtations destroy relationships, lives and persons. The movie may say that marriage is overrated, but it also confronts those who are deliberately unfaithful to their partners.
